Safe Zone
by alizardnamedBill
Summary: The world ended a few years back. The dead rose from the ground. People were killed. Eaten. If the walkers didn't kill you, starvation did. But now the living are fighting back. And a safe zone has been made.
1. Prologue

Story Title: Safe Zones

Chapter Title: Introduction

World: The Walking Dead (completely AU)

Pairing: Daryl/OC, cannon

Rating: M (language, violence, nudity, sexual references, sexual content, drug use)

AN: This is my first try at actually uploading something I have written. Please let me know what you think. I would greatly appreciate no bashing. :3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of its characters. I am merely using them with a bit of artistic freedom. I would be extremely happy if I owned Daryl but unfortunately, I do not. Sad face.

The world ended a couple of years ago. Majority of the humans had been wiped out. The dead rose back up and ate the living. Survivors were few and far between. Many had lost what bit of humanity they had left. People killed each other over supplies. Food and water.

Guns.

The ones that did survive banded together. Some for the right reasons. Others did just so they could have the upper hand against other groups. But one day, a small group of men, now known as the Raiders, talked every person they came across into banding together so they could try to take the world back. For the living. These men offered plenty of food and water and safety to any that would help. They armed the people they found. After they gathered enough people, they took a large mall back from the dead. There wasn't much left in there by that point but it was a safe zone. From there, their group only grew.

Before long, they had enough people. They had enough fire power. They had enough muscle. They set out in groups and cleared large areas of any and all walkers. After that, it was only a matter of setting up perimeters.

Fences were set up. Not just one around the safe zone but multiple layers just in case any walkers broke through a layer. Barbed wire was laid out in bundles around the last fences. Nothing could get into the safe zone. The living actually stood a chance now.

A few months after the first safe zone, Area Z, was created, survivors started appearing from all over. Doctors were set up just inside the second gate to make sure people were healthy before entering Area Z. They didn't want any sickness getting in, be it walkers or the common cold. They couldn't risk it.

Before long, Area Z was overflowing with the living. The Raiders decided it was time to take more land back. Within months they had two more safe zones set up, District B and Zone 1. But not everyone was contempt with that. Two men, one called the Commodore and his right hand man the Governor, commissioned the Raiders to take back a nearby prison. The Raiders complied, thinking about how safe it would be there. After the prison was taken, the Commodore gathered together some workers and had them remodel the prison into a beautiful town of sorts. There were apartments and common areas and a large kitchen with an eating area. The Governor hired staff. The people who were deemed worthy moved in. They called it Satellite.

Only people who were considered better than the rest were allowed into Satellite and they became known as the Mighty. The Commodore and Governor sit on top of it all, calling all the shots. Nothing is what it used to be and people prove that by giving everything a different name. Zone 1 holds everyone right below the Mighty. They hold to good jobs this society has created. The Raiders live there along with the chefs and farmers and gun owners and drug lords, known as Intel. District B holds all the Satellite workers and pimps, Papas Drug runners, or Rats, live here and are the only ones that have any hope of making it into a better safe zone. Area Z is for the people who can't find work and the craftsmen and the prostitutes, Baby dolls, and the strippers, Bettys and Bobbies, and the drugies. Drugs are still a huge thing in this world. Get too strung out and Intel will refer to you as an EZ. As in easy money. They will always send Rats your way because they know they can get something out of you.

Area Z holds all the entertainment. They have fights that pit man against walker. Each round, more walkers get added into the ring with you. Kill as many as you can or get bit. Everyone wants out of Area Z. But no one holds any hope of making it.

You can go anywhere down the latter of safe zones but you never go up past your own house. They keep track of what safe zone you belong to by tattoos. If you belong in Area Z, you get a circle on the place of your choosing. If you live in District B, they put a mark through the center of your circle. Zone 1 and they add a dot to the lower right side of the circle. If you are one of the lucky ones who live in Satellite, you get a four pointed star in the center of your circle that looks like a small child colored it in with a crayon.

Not even joking. I guess they think it looks cool. I'm not sure really.

After the first person was bitten during a fight, all the doctors banded together and worked their asses off until they found a cure. Or what they like to call a cure at least. It doesn't kill the infection, it just holds it off. Miss a dose, lose your life. They called their cure WalkOn. They thought they were so clever. No one down in Area Z finds the humor in the name. Maybe because WalkOn is like gold. Difficult to find and just as costly.

Intel sell WalkOn as well as the typical things. You wouldn't believe how differently people look at drugs now the world has gone to shit. The ones that use to turn their noses up at even the most casual of smokers are now hooked on meth. But I'm getting distracted. Intel are very proud of WalkOn and it shows. You practically have to sell them your soul if you don't have the means to pay. Many of the Rats in District B need WalkOn. Selling drugs was the only way they could get it. But if you are one of the Mighty they basically serve it to you on a silver platter.

Area Z has the most diverse group of people you'll ever meet. Some make a living working in the mall. Making jewelry and clothes for the Mighty to buy. Some live purely off the fights, be it through fighting or betting. Some earn their pay by making runs. These few are known as Marauders. Marauders travel all across cities finding whatever they can. Some people also went out across the country hunting. We call them Elves. They are both essential parts of survival yet they never make it out of Area Z. The Mighty never even think twice about them and consider them expendable.

The Baby dolls and Bettys live in Area Z as well. Baby dolls are usually only called on by the Mighty and the B's, that is people who live in District B. Cost is determined by whether a Doll is hooked on drugs. Both men and women work as Baby dolls. Same goes for Bettys. Everyone refers to strippers as a whole as Bettys but will say Bobbys if they are talking about male strippers. Bettys are called on throughout all the safe zones. Everyone needs a little entertainment to lift their spirits. Prices for Bettys are determined by addiction to drugs and whether or not you've been bit.

Each safe zone has its own police officers. They go by different titles and have different duties depending on which safe zone they work and live in. Satellite officers are known as Captains. Their job entitles keeping lower level people out. That's pretty much it. Every now and then, one may have to deal with a slight civil dispute but that's the worst they get. Zone 1 officers are Sergeants. Sergeants keep people in the correct safe zone and deal with the Raiders and Intel. They have it really easy because both groups take care of their own really. Disputes over land are about as bad as it gets for the Zonies. Officers from District B are titled Privates. They have it the hardest. Rats cause a lot of issues for Privates and with the Satellite workers living there; it is harder for them to keep others out. Area Z has Beaters. They aren't really officers. No one considered them to be. Area Z has no real laws. The only one Exes have is "Don't leave the fence." Leave the fence, whether to go out in the city or into District B, and the Beaters will hunt you down and beat you within an inch of your life. That's where their title came from. Area Z doesn't have a prison or holding cell. You just get the shit beat out of you and they hop you learn your lesson.

Different safe zones get different titles. As I have already stated, people is District B are known as B's and people in Satellite are known as Mighties. Everyone in Zone 1 is referred to as Zonies and all the people down in Area Z are the Exes. Meaning everyone down there is Expendable and you basically serve as a warning call for everyone else if the walkers ever start to take over again.

This is what society is now. Four safe zones with many jobs yet few hopes. The line ends here. Make it to Area Z and you can proudly say you survived the Apocalypse. They even have shirts, Martin the Man gives them away just inside the gate. There may not be much hope left in this world but everyone can find their place in it. Whether that place is sitting pretty up with the Mighties in Satellite or an Intel with a decent house in a nice cul-de-sac or being a Marauder with a decent enough cabin or being an EZ living in a shack with a few other people, there is a place for you here. You just have to find it.


	2. 1: Survivors

Story Title: Safe Zones

Chapter Title: Chapter One - Survivors

World: The Walking Dead (completely AU)

Pairing: Daryl/OC, cannon

Rating: M (language, violence, nudity, sexual references, sexual content, drug use)

AN: I decided that T-Dogg made it. He made it back to the group thinking walkers got Carol and Daryl found her later just like on the show. Just clarifying. Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of its characters. I am merely using them with a bit of artistic freedom. I would be extremely happy if I owned Daryl but unfortunately, I do not. Sad face.

Daryl's POV:

We were forced to leave the prison. The walkers took over. They came out of nowhere really. No warning. Nothing. We had just found Andrea and Merle wondering towards the prison with a few other people from Woodbury. Said they had been overrun and that the Governor had abandoned them. Rick, against his better judgment, let them in. Not even two days later is when we were forced to leave.

We lost a lot of people when the walkers took over. Andrea was the first to go. She died trying to protect a small group from Woodbury. They all were taken down. They served for a good distraction for a bit but the walkers found us again. Axel fell behind and tackled a walker that was going after Beth. We all were shocked by him doing that. That's when we lost Carol. She was right behind me and I owe her my life.

Now we are wondering from one small place to the next. We are running out of food. The few of us that are left are sitting around a small fire we made in a little house. Rick is pacing between two windows and Carl is searching for food. Glen and Maggie are each keeping watch at a window and Beth is sitting with Hershel and Judith next to the fire. T-Dogg is somewhere upstairs searching for more medical supplies. I was standing a couple feet away from Rick watching him pace and Merle was taking a piss in the bathroom. Rick turned to me and stepped right up in my face. Took all of my self-control not to draw back.

"We aren't gonna make it much longer," Rick whispered so I was the only one to hear him. "We need to find another safe place. Or at least some more food." He glanced behind him as Carl came back in the room with five cans in his arms. We rushed over to see what he had found. He was holding two cans of baked beans, a can of corn, and two cans of peaches. We opened everything and divided it as evenly as possible. We had settled down to eat when T-Dogg whistled and motioned for Rick to come over. After looking at whatever T-Dogg was pointing at, Rick ran over and kicked out the fire.

"Everyone find somewhere to hide! There are people coming," he somehow managed to yell that in a whisper. We all dropped our food and ran to different hiding spots in the house. The last group of survivors we came across tried to kill all us guys and take all our women. It wasn't pretty. I grabbed Beth and baby Judith and rushed them into a closet and jumped in with them. I left a crack in the door so I could see and kept my crossbow pointing out the crack.

I heard someone running up the stairs and another pair of footsteps going into the kitchen. A pair broke off from the one heading toward the kitchen and came right at the closet. I pushed Beth back in the closet and took up aim at the door. It flew open and standing on the other side was a guy in his teens. As soon as he saw me, he eyes got huge and he threw his hands up in the air.

"Whoa! Calm down man. We don't mean y'all no harm," his talking attracted the attention of the rest of his group. A huge guy came running over and pointed a gun directly at my head. He was followed by a small chick with hair that looked like fire and Rick was right behind her with Carl.

"They said they have a safe place to take us to. Promised us food, water, a house," Rick looked like he was in awe of these people. I wasn't as trusting. The little fiery girl stepped up and lowered the big guy's weapon.

"Listen to your friend. We've had these safe zones set up for about a year now. We'll take you there and get you whatever you need," as she said this, she took note of Beth and Judith standing behind me. "We have baby food and diapers too." It's like she knew just what to say to convince us all. Beth pushed down on my arm and I finally lowered my crossbow.

"Where is this safe zone? 'Cause we been out here a long ass time and ain't seen shit," I muttered while glaring the big guy down. I noticed Rick had come back in the room and everyone else was following right behind him. Merle walked over and looked the small red head up and down.

"It's over where the mall used to be. They've had it all set up for over a year now. I don't know how you've never seen it or heard of it." She took note of rag tag group. Another guy came into the room. All of them were dressed in different protective clothes. The girl and the teenager were both wearing leather outfits. The other two guys were wearing what almost looked like S.W.A.T. uniforms.

"Come on, the cars are outside and we need to get to them before the walkers swarm 'em." Big guy led the way out the door and we all followed. Waiting outside were two army Warthogs and a Jeep. All three were still running.

"Damn, y'all ain't playing 'round are ya?" Merle whistled while walking excitedly toward the camo Warthog sitting in front. The red headed chick smiled and headed toward the blacked out Warthog at the rear. The big guy walked over to the leading Warthog and climbed behind the rear while the buff guy and teenager headed to the Jeep. I followed after Merle knowing no one else was going to willing get in the Warthog with him.

We rode for a good thirty minutes when it all started coming into view. We could see a complex of some sort out in the distance. It's surrounded by so many fences and different levels of buildings. It was like a beacon of life, drawing us in like flies.

As we grew closer, I could see multiple fences much like the ones at the prison except these seemed more fortified. We drove up to a gate where a man ran out to the Warthog.

"Hey Bo. Whatcha find?" He saw me and Merle right after asking. "More survivors? Just the two?"

"No. There are eight more in the Jeep and Red's Hog. Send word. We're taking 'em to the doctors." The man nodded and took off back to the booth he came from and then the gate opened.

"Doctors? Why we gotta see some doctors?" Merle questioned, wary about what they will do with him because of his arm.

"We just check you to make sure you are healthy. If you have any sickness at all, we take care of it." I noticed the big guy, Bo, had a Hawaiian accent.

"Take care of it? What, put a bullet in our head?" I asked bitterly thinking all of this is just too good to be true.

"No. We give you medicine to make you better." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and gave me a look like I was insane. I gave Merle a look as Bo stopped the Warthog and got out, motioning for us to follow. As I got out, I saw Rick and the others getting out of the other two vehicles. Red, as Bo had referred to the chick, came walking up and led us all into a small home. There was a whole hospital set up inside. We were all led over to different beds or chairs and asked to sit down.

"The doctors will be here shortly. Would y'all like some food or something to drink while you wait? Doctors gotta come down from Zone 1 so it'll take 'em a bit to get here." Red explained while Bo and the other two guys walked over to her.

"We would all greatly appreciate some food," Rick said as he walked over to where Red stood. He was smiling. I hadn't seen him do that in a long time.

"Anything in particular or will you be fine as long as it's solid?" Red asked with a playful smile and Rick just said that anything would be good. They all walked out of the room apparently trusting us not to go anywhere or try anything. Either that or they knew we couldn't. Merle quickly started going through all the pill bottles lying around hoping to find some pain medicine. Old habits die hard and all my brother has been talking about is wishing he had some oxycottons.

Red came walking back into the room with a styrofoam to-go box in each hand. The three guys came in right behind her, each one caring two to-go boxes. She walked over to Merle and gave him a box and offered the other to me. I took it not knowing what to expect.

"Pauli's' was the closest place so we just got you all some spaghetti. They give you huge portions so we figured it would be best." Red smiled at all of us while I opened my box. I was just about to ask if I should eat it with my hands when she shoved a fork into the huge mound of spaghetti. It smelled so good that I probably would have dug in with my fingers.

We were all about half way through our food when two men and a woman walked in the room. They all had nice clean, white lab coats on and stethoscopes around their necks. The woman stepped up in front of the men and explained that they were just going to check our blood pressure, weigh us, get our height, take some blood, and check us for bites and tics. They instantly got to work. I could tell they really did not want to be doing this. The woman doctor went around getting blood pressure and taking blood while one of the men asked us to come over to him so he could weigh us and get our height and name while the other started taking some of the men behind a screen and asking us to strip down so he could look for bites and tics. It was very hectic but it was going by rather fast. We were all deemed healthy and allowed access to the next point towards entering the safe zone.

When we reached the small booth outside the final gate, we were told that we would have to fill out a questionnaire and we would be given a place to stay. While we waited, Red explained about the different safe zones. About how we are divided by class. I knew then and there that I would be in the lowest one.

The questionnaire asked our for our name, age, where we lived before the world went to shit, where we worked, whether or not we had ever been or were currently addicted to any drugs, if we had any ongoing illness. It was insane. We all finished and they took our papers to be reviewed.

"How do they keep track of who belongs in what safe zone?" Glen questioned from his perch on the arm of Maggie's chair.

"You get a tattoo," Red explained while lifting the right side of her shirt revealing her toned stomach and hip bone that had a circle on it that was about the size of her fist. "A single circle is for Area Z, the lowest level." I was shocked that she was in the lowest class. A man came out from behind the desk and gave Red a paper.

"This is where they were all assigned but they can go lower as you know. Sparrow is waiting to mark them," he muttered this before disappearing back behind a door. Red motioned for us to follow her. She waited until we were outside and surrounding her to speak.

"OK. So, Daryl, Merle, Glen, and T-Dogg were all placed in Area Z. Rick, you and your kids were put in District B. Maggie, Beth, and Hershel, y'all were placed in Zone 1. They put you were they did based off your job pre-apocalypse. You can go in any zone lower than the one they placed you in. If you choose to go in the zone they have given you, you won't be able to leave that one and will never see each other again. Just puttin' it all out there now." She said it all with a grim set to her jaw. Maggie quickly hugged Glen and said she was staying with him which led to Hershel and Beth staying in Area Z as well. Carl wanted to stay with Beth so Rick decided to stay too.

"So, you are all staying in Area Z? Willingly?" Red looked at them like they were insane. I couldn't blame her really. When no one said anything she just shrugged her shoulders and led us to another small house just across the street. Inside sat a man covered in tattoos with a fist sized circle right in the center of his forehead.

"'Ey Sparrow. New Exes. All need circles." After addressing him. Red turned back to the group, "You all have to get a circle tattoo somewhere on your body. Where you get it is completely up to you just make sure it's somewhere you don't mind showing people." She walked over to stand beside Sparrow and called Rick over and asked where he wanted his. Bo came walking in the room before he could answer and I noticed Bo had his circle on the side of his neck. Rick decided to get it on his chest. Red told him that whether or not Carl gets his now is up to him and said that Judith will get it when Rick says she old enough or when she turns eighteen. Whichever came first. Carl begged so Rick let him. He got it on his bicep. Red called Glen over and he got his on the back of his neck. Maggie got her tattoo on the back of her neck too. Hershel and Beth got theirs on their wrist. T-Dogg got his on the inside of his left bicep. Merle decided to get his on his stump. I came over and got my circle on my left forearm. After we all had our circles, Red and Bo led us through the final gate.

The guards at the gate all checked for our tattoos. After we all showed them, we were allowed in. We walked through the gate and it just looked like a shitty part of a downtown city. Shops with busted out or boarded up windows, homes that had been boarded up. It did not look very promising. But I could hear talking. Yelling. Laughing. We walked around a corner and it was like everything came to life.

There were hundreds of people. Adults talking and trading things and taking pictures with some chained up walkers. Children running around and playing soccer in the street. I didn't really know what to think of it all. It seemed too good to be true. After everything I had been through, this was kind of a major culture shock. Red led us over to a shop with the window completely busted out. A man was set up in the window. She stood there talking to him for a bit and then came over to us with a piece of paper.

"Who wants to live in the same house? Rent is determined by how many rooms are in your house. You'll get the first two weeks of rent waved so you have time to get adjusted and get a job. Rent is nothing like it used to be. It's really cheap. At least down here in the Area." Rick stepped up saying he obviously wanted to be with his family. Hershel said he wanted a house with Maggie and Beth and Glen said he wanted one near them. T-Dogg said it would just be him and Merle gave me a look before saying me and him would share one. Red took off back to the guy in the window and came back with some keys. She handed them out and motioned for us to follow her. She came up to a rather large brownstone style apartment. We took off up the stairs as she explained that the one bedroom apartments had more of an open loft type feel and the two and three bedroom apartments were more like houses. She pointed T-Dogg and Glenn to rooms on the third floor and gave them their keys. She walked us up to the fourth and gave me a key and pointed me toward a door with a big green deer painted on it.

"A lot of door numbers were taken for some reason. Someone got creative and painted some things on different doors so you can tell your room apart from the rest. Doesn't matter much since we don't get mail. I got bored and painted my whole door with some abstract lookin' shit." She shrugged her shoulders and motioned for Rick and the rest to follow her on up the stairs. I opened the door and was pleasantly surprised. It opened into a small foyer that emptied out into the living room. To the right was a kitchen and the left was a door leading towards a master bedroom. I didn't even bother looking in it knowing Merle would want it. I saw a door to the back of the living room and heading for it. The door led into a smaller room with all the basics. I walked over to the window and looked out over my new home, Area Z. I was officially a Exe, as Red had referred to us. This was my new life. No more struggling. No more moving from place to place. I didn't have to run anymore. There was a knock on the front followed by Merle yelling at me.

"Hey dipshit, get the door." Maybe things wouldn't be too different after all.

3rd Person POV:

Daryl opened the door to find Red standing on the other side. They both took a minute to fully examine the other. Daryl's hair was even longer now and greatly annoyed him. He had gained quite a bit of muscle from fighting for his life. It seemed as if almost every shirt he owned was sleeveless. He seemed to like it that way.

Red was his polar opposite. Where Daryl had gotten very tan, Red was very pale. Her hair was long and fiery orange with yellow highlights. It had a natural curl to it and reached down to her shoulder blades. The strangest thing to Daryl was that she had the side of her head shaved. Her eyes were icy blue with a greenish tint. She looked like she used to be a model and Daryl couldn't believe that she was put down in Area Z with the Exes.

"Just letting you know that I'm on the fifth floor with Rick if you need me. Like I said, my door has some abstract looking shit painted on it. Can't miss it. If you got any questions or need to know where something is, hit me up. I'm gonna be meeting up with Glenn, Rick, T-Dogg, and Hershel tomorrow to help them find jobs if you and your brother wanna tag along," she said it all in a rush like she was in a rush. Daryl thought she didn't want to be talking to him. He never was a very convident person.

"If anyone says something to you that you don't quite understand, find me or Bo. We'll help ya out." Red smiled at him before turning to walk back down the stairs. "We brought y'all here so we're kind of stuck with ya now." Red looked back as she spoke and winked at him. All he could do was stare dumbly after her as she walked away.

"You know you don't stand no chance with a fine piece of ass like that so why are you even getting' ya hopes up, littler brother?" Merle said bitterly while walking up behind him in nothing but a towel. Daryl rolled his eyes, turned, and closed the door.

Author's note: Let me know what you think and if I should attempt a second chapter. Please and thank you.

~Bill


End file.
